Tomatoes with pasta, rocket and clams

Tam West

This dish is best made with tomatoes at their peak. It has a higher ratio of tomato to pasta, but you can vary that according to your preference.

Ingredients

250 g	Dried pasta noodles, I used Laganelle al Limone from Sabato
2 Tbsp	Olive oil
1	Garlic clove, crushed
1 pinch	Dried chilli flakes, or 1 fresh chilli (deseeded and finely chopped)
1 kg	Clams, vacuum-packed littleneck clams (Main)
750 g	Tomatoes, very ripe autumn tomatoes, cores removed and roughly chopped (Main)
300 g	Rocket, or baby spinach
1 drizzle	Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Place pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water. Cook according to the instructions on the packet, until al dente. Drain well, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the clams with their juice and some of the pasta water and heat.
3. Place the drained pasta in a large shallow serving bowl. Toss through the tomatoes and rocket. Spoon over the clams and all the delicious pan juices.
4. Divide between four shallow bowls and drizzle each with a little extra virgin olive oil.

Make a change

Substitute other shellfish or pieces of firm white fish for the clams.